David Baker, FAIA, LEED AP, has forged an illustrious career designing stylish and practical market-rate and affordable urban housing, primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as in Baltimore, Denver, Charleston, S.C., and (coming soon) Seattle.

Witty, urbane, opinionated, and equipped with a rapid-fire patter, the 67-year-old, whose San Francisco–based firm David Baker Architects (DBA) celebrates its 35th anniversary this year, has hewn to a design philosophy that prioritizes the social and financial concerns of the communities in which the firm works.